Reference Platform, Launch Products

Our Reference Platform And Launch Processors

As with the launch of Llano for mobile, AMD is releasing Trinity by putting its best foot forward. This comes in the form of the AMD A10-4600M, a quad-core processor with its fastest Radeon HD 7660G graphics.

The reference platform also comes equipped with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. Here’s the full specification table. 

Solid State Drive aside, this system is a good example of how a mainstream Trinity laptop will be equipped. The pricing on systems with the new hardware will be roughly the same as before, so you’ll likely see the A10-4600M turn up in systems selling for around $700. 

What about the rest of the lineup? At launch there are five different options, three quad-cores and two dual-cores.

Click image for bigger version.

AMD has bumped the brand labels up a bit. The A6 is now the dual-core line, which used to be called A4, and the A10 is now the fastest instead of the A8. I’m not sure what AMD is getting at with its branding, which I find confusing, but that’s probably a discussion best left in the comments. 

All of the launch processors are distinct. None of them share the same IGP and they cover a broad range of clock speeds. While the A10-4600M is the fastest, it probably isn’t the model that will be the most common. If Llano is any indication the mainstream processor will be the A8-4500M, which will be found in systems priced between $500 and $700. This gives AMD a nice selling point, as it’s hard to find systems with Intel quad-cores at low prices. Its maximum clock of 2.8 GHz looks impressive, as well. 

One gripe I have about the line-up is the fact that AMD continues to withhold its best IGP from anything besides the fastest line of processors. The company is marketing Trinity with the message of “emergent theory” which according to AMD means “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” That sounds fine, but AMD’s decision to severally hamper the graphics portion of low-end A-Series parts seems to sell short the company’s greatest strength.   

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